Ensysce Biosciences Gets Notice of Allowance for US Patent on SWCNT Delivery of siRNA

Published on March 7, 2014 at 7:02 AM

Ensysce Biosciences Inc. announced today that the U.S. Patent Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Application No. 13/175,314: SINGLE-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBE/SIRNA COMPLEXES AND METHODS RELATED THERETO. The application has claims covering methods of delivering single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) complexes with siRNA for therapeutic applications.

The patent will extend the intellectual property coverage of Ensysce and add to the extensive package of patents for the use of SWCNT for therapeutic applications licensed to Ensysce worldwide.

Carbon nanotubes provide a means to deliver large biologically active agents through natural barriers within the body and readily into cells in a number of tissues that have previously been difficult to deliver to. “Our demonstration of SWCNT delivery of siRNA into tissues and specifically tumors in animal models has allowed us to begin moving this delivery platform into clinical development,” said Dr. Lynn Kirkpatrick, CEO of Ensysce. “We have optimized the formulation of our complexes and have begun studies to support our IND that will lead to a clinical trial in the next 12 to 15 months. This Notice of Allowance confirms the novelty of our approach and significantly enhances the scope of our protection.”

“siRNA has issues with adequate cellular delivery, yet is one of the most intriguing and promising approaches to cancer therapy today,” said Dr. Garth Powis, Director of the NCI Designated Sanford Burnham Cancer Center and member of the Ensysce Scientific Advisory Board. “Ensysce’s success in using carbon nanotubes to deliver these macromolecules providing biological activity in tumors is a major accomplishment.”

About Ensysce Biosciences:

Ensysce is located in the Biotechnology Commercialization Center in the Texas Medical Center and is focused on the use of carbon nanotubes for therapeutics in the area of cancer treatment. The company has an extensive carbon nanotube-related, worldwide intellectual property portfolio, including IP developed at Rice University by the late Nobel Prize winner Dr. Richard Smalley as well as from the University of Florida and Trinity College in Dublin.